Presentations, stories and how I look at things.

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Going abroad.

Seven students made a morning walk together with their teacher.
In the early sunlight the dewdrops shone.
The teacher stopped at a large dewdrop.
He gathered the students around the drop in a way
The sun would still shine on it.
Then he asked them what colour the drop was.

Red said the first,
Orange said the second,
Yellow said the third,
Green said the fourth,
Blue said the fifth,
Purple said the sixth,
And the seventh said violet.

They were amazed about the differences, and argued about who was right.
They were all sure that they were right.
Then the teacher made the students switch positions.
Slowly the students realized that they all had different observations, and that they were all right.
Internationalization is like watching dewdrops.
With international contacts students will get the possibility to expand their vision.

Students will get to know more about other cultures; other languages, values and habits.
Using these subjects the students will acquire knowledge.
But it is mostly about being able to create an own vision on certain matters.

Students will be ambassadors of their own country.
Whether they receive students, or go abroad.
When students go abroad, they have to take care of their own business, and most of the times they don’t have the opportunity to fall back on others as much as they were used to.
Internationalization is not just about acquiring knowledge;
It’s also about making life experience.
When students go abroad, they have different needs and wishes.
First they want to survive, they need some basics such as food, water and a place to sleep. Students want to feel safe. Not just physical safety but also mental safety is very important.
One of my favorite subjects at school is group dynamics.
Amazing to see what the importance is of belonging and to be accepted.
After all these needs, we get the self-esteem needs.
These are our needs for confidence and achievement, for receiving respect and to respect others.
Finally there are needs for students to realise personal potential and seeking personal growth, also in unknown areas.
“An old friend of mine” has even made a nice drawing of all these needs.

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